Hitherto, a technology disclosed in Patent Literature 1 has been known as a variable compression ratio mechanism. According to Patent Literature 1, a multi-link type piston and crank mechanism are used to change stroke characteristics of a piston so that a mechanical compression ratio of an internal combustion engine can be changed. Specifically, the piston and a crankshaft are coupled to each other through intermediation of an upper link and a lower link. A posture of the lower link is controlled by an actuator including a drive motor, a speed reducer, or the like. In this manner, the stroke characteristics of the piston are changed to control the engine compression ratio.